Home Affordability Better, Worse Elsewhere

ROBYN A. FRIEDMAN REAL ESTATE

October 3, 2005|ROBYN A. FRIEDMAN REAL ESTATE

Do the high housing prices in South Florida have you thinking about moving out of state in order to find an affordable home? If so, then consider moving to Killeen, Texas. According to Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate Inc., Killeen offers the least expensive four-bedroom house in the 319 U.S. housing markets studied by the brokerage.

The average price of a single-family home in Killeen with four bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, a family room and a two-car garage is $131,328. At the opposite end of the housing spectrum is La Jolla, Calif., the priciest market studied by Coldwell Banker. In this tony seaside community, you'll have to plunk down an average of $1.88 million for a comparable four-bedroom home.

Every year, Coldwell Banker publishes its annual Home Price Comparison Index (HPCI), an "apples to apples" comparison of homes sold in typical neighborhoods where middle managers tend to live. The firm compiles data from its offices throughout the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada. The 2005 HPCI is based on average sales prices of listings for properties sold through July 2005.

Recent statistics have highlighted the rapidly escalating prices in South Florida -- according to the Florida Association of Realtors, the median price of an existing single-family home rose 33 percent in Broward County, 26 percent in Miami-Dade and 27 percent in Palm Beach County between August of this year and last year. Still, Florida contains some of the more affordable housing prices in the United States, according to Coldwell Banker, especially when compared with many areas in California.

"Our prices are continuing to escalate, so it's a lot less expensive to live in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, or Wichita or Des Moines than most areas of Florida," said Linda Lafferty, a Coldwell Banker regional senior vice president for Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties. "But while we offer a desirable lifestyle and a warm climate, we're not La Jolla."

According to the HPCI, a 2,200-square-foot home in Coral Springs costs $387,141, while a similarly sized home in Miami would cost $671,854. The most expensive market in Florida is Key West, where a 2,200-square-foot house will set you back by $949,375. The most affordable is Pensacola, where the price would be $222,258.

"We have experienced significant gains in home appreciation over the past five years, but compared to some of the other markets on the HPCI study, I would argue that Broward County continues to offer exceptional value to the consumer," said Ardene Clarke, regional senior vice president for Coldwell Banker in Broward County.

Some of the more interesting facts contained in the HPCI include:

The average sales price of all the U.S. markets surveyed by Coldwell Banker is $401,767, up 13.3 percent since last year.

For the third year in a row, the study's most expensive market is La Jolla, a suburb of San Diego.

The price difference between La Jolla and Killeen, Texas, is $1.7 million for a similar 2,200-square-foot home.

Of the markets surveyed, 52 percent have an average home price of less than $300,000.

Nine of the country's top 10 most expensive markets are in California. Greenwich, Conn., rounds out the top 10 list. Other high-ticket areas outside of California are along the East Coast, including Boston ($1.26 million); Rye, N.Y., ($869,124); and Bethesda/Chevy Chase, Md., ($829,750). Manhattan was not included in the study because of the lack of single-family homes there.

Markets that come closest to the national average sales price of $401,767 are Minneapolis and Edina, Minn.

Among the top 10 most affordable U.S. markets, three are in Texas (Killeen, Arlington and Fort Worth), and two are in West Virginia (Beckley and Parkersburg).

So, what does this data mean for people in the market for a new home? It helps make them more aware of the prices in other parts of the country in the event that they are planning to relocate to another state. And for those who are moving to Florida, the HPCI data can update them on current pricing -- especially valuable for those who haven't kept up with our escalating home values. "For people who are relocating to Florida, you don't see as many people with sticker shock if they've seen these numbers," Clarke said.

Coldwell Banker studied the most and least expensive U.S. housing markets. In each market, Coldwell looked at the average price of a single-family, 2,200-square-foot home with four bedrooms, two and one-half bathrooms, a family room and a two-car garage.